The story so far (in order):
@dibblers.dabs/a-tale-of-two-pizzas-ongoing-contest
@wrestlingdesires/the-great-pizza-feast
@dibblers.dabs/a-tale-of-two-pizzas-ongoing-contest-week-2
@wrestlingdesires/the-rise-of-the-predas-a-tale-of-two-pizzas
@onewolfe/a-tale-of-two-pizzas-contest-entry
@dibblers.dabs/a-tale-of-two-pizzas-ongoing-contest-week-3
@wrestlingdesires/a-tale-of-two-pizzas-every-man-has-his-price
@dibblers.dabs/a-tale-of-two-pizzas-ongoing-contest-week-4
@onewolfe/a-tale-of-two-pizzas-contest-entry-week-4
@jesustiano/the-life-of-a-pizzaspy
@dibblers.dabs/a-tale-of-two-pizzas-ongoing-contest-week-5
@an-man/a-tale-of-two-pizza-9dffb964649b2
@jesustiano/the-tryouts-of-the-pizza
@dibblers.dabs/a-tale-of-two-pizzas-ongoing-contest-week-6
@wrestlingdesires/kindness-and-cruelty-the-musings
@dibblers.dabs/a-tale-of-two-pizzas-ongoing-contest-week-7
@samsmith1971/a-tale-of-two-pizzas
@wrestlingdesires/laketown-a-tale-of-two
@dibblers.dabs/a-tale-of-two-pizzas-ongoing-contest-week-8
@wrestlingdesires/the-arts-war-a-tale
@samsmith1971/a-tale-of-two-pizzas-36d39ad4b0d7
@dibblers.dabs/a-tale-of-two-pizzas-ongoing-contest-week-9
@wrestlingdesires/barry-s-predicament-a-tale
@an-man/a-tale-of-two-pizza-ae27876683db8
@dibblers.dabs/a-tale-of-two-pizzas-ongoing-contest-week-10
@an-man/a-tale-of-two-pizza-36beaff117b99
@wrestlingdesires/sleepy-and-the-pepperoni-bandit
@samsmith1971/a-tale-of-two-pizzas-6bffef3462c41
Other Previous Entries:
@jesustiano/el-adviento-de-la-pizza
@jesustiano/la-bendita-pizza-esp-or
@jesustiano/otto-s-encounter-with-olives
@onewolfe/a-tale-of-two-pizzas-week-3-entry
@an-man/a-tale-of-two-pizza
@dadspardan/a-tale-of-two-pizzas-the-crust-thickens
@wrestlingdesires/a-tale-of-two-pizzas-the-second-pizza
@an-man/a-tale-of-two-pizza-0c91a51f4c9e5#@dibblers.dabs/re-an-man-2021831t11856751z
@onewolfe/a-tale-of-two-pizzas-contest-week-5-entry
@wrestlingdesires/a-tale-of-two-pizzas
@jesustiano/conociendo-al-francotirador-esp-or
@an-man/a-tale-of-two-pizza-4fb448ed34cc2
@an-man/a-tale-of-two-pizza-f657fc1924c31
@an-man/a-tale-of-two-pizza-c74dc42c5672f
@jesustiano/the-russo-legacy-and-the
@repayme4568/a-tale-of-two-pizza
@jesustiano/do-what-a-pizza-spy
@johnbenn/a-tale-of-two-pizza
It wasn't until the second day after returning with their news and truckload of pepperoni that Barry and Rachel realized something wasn't quite right. Neither one of them had seen Chef Charlie, an old friend of their family, since they had returned.
"Have you seen Charlie yet?" Barry asked Rachel over a breakfast of leftover pizza from the night before. "You haven't seen him either?! He must be very busy in the kitchen then. Perhaps we should go visit him this morning. I'm surprised he didn't come to thank us both for the pepperoni already." Rachel was shocked. Every time either of them had ever returned on a mission- even before he became know as the famous pizza chef- he had made a point of checking in with them. He always shared all of his latest recipes with them and asked about their adventures in far off lands and how the citizens fared under other Baron's rule. The siblings had come to rely on him to help care for their infirm parents in their absence and viewed him as a part of their family- in some ways Charlie had taken on much of the parental responsibility when their parents had fallen sick. Both of them had sat with their parents the previous evening before they fell asleep, reassuring the old couple that all was well and they would be home for a while.
The two hurried down to the kitchen together after their breakfast, ready to tell Charlie of their daring escape from the Preda's. Expecting the familiar sight of Charlie tossing pizza dough, or chopping up toppings, or studiously observing a cooking pizza in the oven, they stopped abruptly as they entered and saw a young man busy kneading dough instead. Otto was sat on a stool across the prep table from him watching him work, and both glanced up at the two master spies. The young man's steady kneading faltered for a moment as he took the two of them in, he nodded, then returned his focus to the dough. Otto stood up smoothly, and walked over to shake Barry and Rachel's hands.
"Ah, Barry, Rachel, good to see you this morning, and thank you for bringing back the pepperoni! I understand you had quite a challenge in the Preda's horrid town. This is Frankches, Charlie's apprentice, at least until recently.... I'm sure you understand..." He trailed off as he saw the change in their expression. "The Baron told you what happened? At the tasting...?"
"No Otto, Danny didn't mention anything about a tasting. He welcomed us back, debriefed us, thanked us for the pepperoni, and bade us rest for at least a week. Where's Charlie, Otto?" Barry asked with icy undertones.
"I'm not sure I am the right person to tell you... perhaps you should go talk to the Baron." Otto was visibly disturbed. Both Rachel and Barry knew him to be a calculating and shrewd advisor to the Baron, it was rare that he displayed any emotion at all. He would not let just anything rattle him like this.
"What happened Otto? Where is Charlie!" Rachel's voice was hard as she spoke. "I want to know before I go talk to Danny." Otto shuddered momentarily, then steadied himself with a deep breath.
"There was... an incident Rachel... at the tasting... Danny almost died... He's allergic to... a certain spice... one that only Charlie knew about... It somehow ended up on one of the Pizza's. Frankches' pizza to be precise. Charlie was the only person alone in the room that could have done it. Danny is still not one hundred percent." Otto slowly explained. He knew what Charlie meant to the two spies. "He is being held, for now. He has not been allowed to speak with anyone or touch a pizza since."
"So... let me make sure I understand. At this tasting two pizza's were made, one by this boy Frankches, and one by Chef Charlie. This spice somehow got into Frankches pizza and Charlie is the one that is locked up?" Rachel forced her voice to remain level. She glared at the boy making dough and practically spat his name when she spoke it. "Danny is going to have to explain himself, Otto. But first, you are going to take us to see Charlie. NOW." Without another word Rachel turned and left the kitchen. Barry stared at the young boy who was now shaking visibly while he continued to knead his dough, not daring to look in Barry's direction.
"Let's go Otto, I want to speak to Charlie first as well. I respect Danny, but Charlie would never do something like this. Lets hear his side of things." Otto appeared reluctant to leave with him. "Otto, it isn't a request. We both know what Rachel and I are capable of. Lets get this sorted out before something happens we all might regret."
With that Barry turned and left the kitchen, not even bothering to look back to see if Otto would follow. Otto was left with no choice, and hurried after him without saying a word to Frankches.
The rules for this week remain the same as previous weeks!
I'd like to continue building on the story of the Pizza Baron and his post apocalyptic world. Each week I'll pick a winner that becomes the next piece of the story and wins 20 $PIZZA and a 5 SBI sponsorship from me. I may award additional prizes if I feel multiple entries expand the story well.
Each week I'll write a post announcing the winner and then I will write another chunk of the story and open it up again for the next weeks competition. I'll compile the winning entry for each week. If we reach a conclusion of the epic tale of the Pizza Baron I'll divide another TBD amount of PIZZA among all the winning entries throughout the whole story and publish the finished story here on Hive with all the contributors as beneficiaries. If this goes well we might have the first open source blockchain novella on our hands! 😂
The first weeks contest established a secondary storyline that may be tied back into the main plot if you so wish!
Bear in mind this is an experiment as well as a competition so we will see how many entries I get and how well it goes!
Rules:
Entries must be more than 200 words but less than 1000.
Entries must use the hivepizza tag
Entries must comment on this post with the link to their entry
Entries must fit in the world/scenario that has developed from the previous weeks contest(s). You are free to develop characters, introduce new ones, invite aliens to the feast, I don't care as long it makes some kind of sense in the context! The Pizza Baron should remain relevant to the plot!
(I've named it a Tale of TWO Pizza's for a reason HINT HINT)